When elementary-age children have holidays and parents do not, parents can be left scrambling for day care options. --Putting people of different religions on the party-planning committee. Tours and tickets tend to sell out. If you want to learn about another culture but aren't sure where to start, a cultural festival can be a great springboard for your education. Students attend an average of 180 school days per year. But having a culturally-aware, inclusive classroom means recognizing that for many cultures, there are significant holidays year-round. Place a small pillow on each chair. You may be surprised at the number of teachers or administrators who can give you a firsthand account of the holiday in question. The rest of that time is spent on weekends, holidays and vacations. Just because kids have time off from school doesn't mean parents do. With holidays becoming more commercial, Christmas and Chanukah have lost some of their value. So at the point we decide that we want to implement more culturally responsive instruction, where to do we start? With a global economy in place and our technology moving at a rate faster than we'd ever imagined, every teacher needs more help meeting the needs of and being culturally responsive to his/her students, many of whom now have roots in places like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Vietnam, Somalia, Croatia, and Jordan. Celebrating a holiday engages children in holiday activities as full-fledged participants, on the assumption that their families believe in the holidays purpose and meaning. Video reduces the time of reading and allows you to "instruct" asynchronously. The Tree . It is no coincidence, I tell students, that holidays like Easter and Passover, representing life and freedom, happen around the same time as more ancient springtime holidays.. Whether or not to include any holidays in your curriculum, and what activities to use if you do, requires thoughtful decision making. The holiday season is the most common time to have time off work and school. 4. 1. For example, Mothers Day and Fathers Day, in the traditional narrative, recognize only one type of family. And all dominant culture holidays reflect a particular perspective about historic events and particular groups of people who are admired and those who are erased. The First Amendment Center, in coalition with the AFT and a number of other organizations including the NEA, have issued a guide for educators on such issues called "Finding Common Ground." Explore accreditationofearly childhood higher education programs, discover the accreditation system standards, and view a list ofaccredited programs. It is hurtful to children and families to impose celebrating of the holidays of one group on all the children and staff, or to make the holiday traditions of some groups visible while others are invisible. On the one hand, they help teachers save valuable class time while boosting student engagement. After all, schools used to have Coke machines on campus and allow students to. Even within groups that honor the same holiday, how individual families celebrate will reflect both similarities and differences. Gain the intel you need now to successfully anticipate and navigate employment laws, stay compliant and mitigate legal risks. Catherine Goins, who worked with Louise and Julie on the second edition, and Julie Bissons book Celebrate! Christmas is the reason for the season, he said. Virtual & Washington, DC | February 26-28, 2023. The ritual on these pages is intended to help students understand what happens at a Seder and to participate in an important tradition in the lives of our Jewish brothers and sisters. Having taught about holidays for the better part of 15 years in four schools, I have rarely been questioned but know theres always the potential concerned parent. They can return to our website and order the items you selected. * Also on the table place the following: two unlit candles; a plate on which you have placed a piece of matzoh for each student (you may need more than one plate depending on the size of the group); one or more glasses half-filled with salted water; place setting of one plate and one cup for each participant. Focus on the awareness of religions rather than acceptance of any one religion. Caution: Eliminate the nuts if there are students with allergies. The United States officially codified the five-day week for all workers in 1932. Thats why its interesting, even surprising, that nearly 100 percent of students say they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Passover, and Halloween. Celebrate holidays from a variety of cultures, not just one. Diversity, a Greenwich, Conn.based firm that promotes diversity in the workplace. There are other differences but, hopefully, the integrity and spirit of the celebration have been maintained and will enable your students to enter respectfully into the experience. Disadvantages of Homeschooling. Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. You may also want to take into account your own personal comfort level as well as what your particular class can handle. Answer (1 of 14): If you're into cold weather and winter sports (skiing, ice skating, sledding) it can be wonderful. Stay up to date with research-based, teacher-focused articles on birth to age 8 in our award-winning, peer-reviewed journal. For the many families of other faiths, the activities are inseparable from the underlying meaning of the religious rituals themselves (after all, a Christmas tree is still a Christmas tree, and the Easter bunny is the Easter bunny). A bunch of snowflakes or garlands on the walls, for example, is perfectly OK, but a manger scene is such a religious symbol that it could offend non-Christian workers, lawyers and experts say. You will see things that spark your curiosity, make you wonder, and amaze you all at once. Holiday celebrations are perfect opportunities for children to learn about our multicultural world and share traditions and values that are cherished parts of people's lives. The general rule of thumb is to do this carefully. Up to 3 times higher prices of services. The pros of using technology in the classroom are dependent on how well teachers and faculty acclimate themselves to said technology. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Look at historical photos from the holiday and have students make up their own stories about what is taking place. While Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere is a beautiful winter wonderland event, Christmas in Australia is usually upwards of 30 degrees celsius. While everyone wants American students to be competitive, students need a break from the classroom occasionally. Materials: You will need Bibles, a new white bed sheet (large enough to serve as a tablecloth for the table where you will gather for your Seder), and several sets of fabric markers. Teaching respect for diversity includes helping children understand that families have different ways of acting, and these may not be the same as the behaviors in their own family. Non-Thinking Use Holiday Biased Curriculum An Anti-Biased Approach Chapters 1 and 2 examine the personal and social meanings of holidays, as well as current approaches and new ideas for celebrating, noting the benefits of a holiday curriculum. Need help with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA? Luckily, the teacher notices the conflicted expression on Esthers face and intervenes: Esther, do you know that cake is made with leavened flour and that you cant eat it during Passover? Esther nods her head. There are no exceptions to this rule. The best reason to move during the holidays - you will save money. Winter is the least busy month for movers because not many people want to move when it is extremely cold outside. In a traditional Seder, there are two ritual hand-washings; here there is only one. var currentUrl = window.location.href.toLowerCase(); Step #2: Personalize My Email, Looking for more ways to foster an inclusive space at school? Encourage awareness, understanding, and inclusion, not the practice of or devotion toward any religion. If you plan on doing something simple, you need to give more thought than signing your name on a card. Pros of Celebrating Holidays: Only shows limited view of a culture. The Gospels of Matthew (26:17-19), Mark (14:12-16), and Luke (22:7-13) all report that after arriving in Jerusalem on the day Christians now celebrate Palm Sunday of the Lords Passion, Jesus instructed the disciples to make preparations for the Passover meal they would share together. Join us at the members-only event and build your advocacy skills, expand your networks, and advance federal and state early childhood policy. Some [employers] give major Christian and Jewish holidays off and are moving to include major Muslim holidays as well. As we've already established, there are many pros and cons for working on holidays. The Drawbacks of Class Pets. Dont champion or push celebration of one holiday over another. Enhance your career and improve your knowledge, skills, and practices with our in-person and online training. days; or occasions for Recognizing Family and Neighborhood Heroes.. }); if($('.container-footer').length > 1){ A wide range of things to buy. Less traffic in big cities. Lets freeze your piece and you can eat it after the holiday. Esther relaxes, gives her cake to the teacher, and goes off to play. The article offers suggestions that teachers can use throughout the school year, as well as when observing cultural and religious holidays and celebrations. Others will view it as an opportunity to present the gospel. Read about this initiative focused on equity in early childhood and find other equity-related content. 3:12 AM. Copyright 2014, Bayard, Inc. All rights reserved. If your favorite part of celebrating the holidays is spending time with family and friends, your holiday wedding will feel extraordinarily sentimental. Many schools only acknowledge the diversity of holidays each December when they sing songs or try foods traditionally associated with Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Celebrating the Holidays and Diversity in the Workplace The winter holidays can also be a source of conflict for HR managers, who must ensure the season doesn't lead to hurt feelings,. The consumerism of holidays can be attributed to the growing amount of commercials and ads that we see in the media. 2. The American Indian Movement, among other groups, have gone as far as to state that the continuous celebration of this holiday is oppressive towards Native Americans. Second, specific reasons to celebrate, like Administrative Professionals Week or Admin Day, keep holidays top of . The Good (Pros) Celebrating holidays can bring students together and help create a sense of community in the classroom. School work, especially in junior high and high school, becomes a child's job. Help them recall that on the night before he died, Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate Passover. One can teach about the holidays from October all the way through May, beginning with the harvest and the holidays of Halloween and Diwali and ending with the rituals of Passover, Easter, and May Day. $('.container-footer').first().hide(); She has a bachelor's degree from Ball State University and a master's degree from Pepperdine University. The holidays can be used to explore how people of diverse backgrounds practice similar values. They may pause or rewind lectures, read through the content repeatedly, make a note of their questions, or discuss the content with their peers, instructors, or tutors. People whose religions have holidays and observances in months other than December (such as the fall for the Hindu celebration of Diwali; or the Muslim celebration of Ramadan, which is celebrated in different months, depending on the year) may not want to attend a Christian season celebration. 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